Astrid and the Manny
by Bellatrix's Weightless Tears
Summary: Astrid has just left Michael, and shared a glance and a dance with Charlie Wu, her ex, and now she's just met a new guy, he's a lot like Rachel Chu, and he's really super great with her son, except he spilled strawberry milk on her new Chanel blouse, and also when he first met her in just his black Garçons Miramar swim briefs, he is everything Auntie Eleanor would never approve of.


Michael had already voiced wanting his parental rights to Cassian.

Already?

They'd only just separated.

Astrid hung up her dress from Nick and Rachel's engagement party tonight, deciding against slipping on one of Michael's faded pajama top's she' must've packed without even noticing, instead selecting something of hers, the last thing she needed was something smelling like him on her.

Not tonight.

Slipping her choice on, her Mum would hate to know she even owned anything like this, it was comfy, and she'd had it since she was in her first year at Oxford, the sweatshirt brought back fond memories of a little rebellion when she took a month to travel by herself on a gap year, Astrid went about taking off her make-up and then turning down her King sized bed, for one now.

Running her fingers through her silky dark strands, Michael's latest message was via his lawyer, demands that he wanted her to agree to for their son, these past few days, Michael's coldness was like just a stranger to her now, it was still so raw and upset her, just as much as his words to her in the limo.

That's how he saw her, his wife.

Honestly, she'd always thought he knew her, and not only adored her, but also respected her, he didn't. She'd inform her lawyer, that no she was never sending her baby away to British boarding school to only see him on half terms and eventually see him _turn into Bernard._

Bernard was a waste of space. It wasn't a surprise that the tabloids loved Bernard with Kitty Poon in just gold briefs, he always was something to abhor, Nick wasn't the only one who decked him once. She'd had a go herself.

She just hadn't missed like Nick had.

Bernard's smarmy attitude just made her lash out and do so, that was when he stole her mother's Kelly Hermes bag and proceeded to use it for his Mum's toy dog carrier.

Scanning her iPhone for any more messages, sighing out, thankfully none were from who she couldn't face, Michael was truly unbelievable especially with what he wanted for Cassian's future, as his mother who went through six hours of labor and then a C section, Cassian was not going to be groomed for Sandhurst, Michael's pipe dream living through his only son.

Her baby was so much like her, shy and he liked drawing, he was trying so hard with his French pronunciations', she'd vowed with a growing smile that maybe in a month or two, they'd go to Paris, just like what her Mum once did with her, when she was getting over Charlie.

It eased her worry a little, at how Cassian had just already adapted and beamed at their new apartment and had sweetly asked her if he could sleep in her bed last night, with it being a new home, voicing as he got ready for bed, in Spiderman pjs how he was thrilled she was spending more time with him from now on.

Most of his stuffed animals were joining them because of being in a new home last night.

Astrid understood as she cuddled her son.

So Michael leaving, wouldn't affect Cassian as badly, tomorrow after breakfast and her first chairing of the Under 40 Singaporean Business Ladies Association, she'd come back, and make him lunch with her and take him out to the aquarium or they could do something else fun, just the two of them.

If it rained, they'd make their own fun inside their new home.

They could put some glow in the dark stars up on his bedroom walls or anything he'd like.

Lately Cassian's obsession was wanting to be signed up for beginner swimming lessons which she'd arrange herself, she'd have to take them too as she'd never really learned properly and also Cassian wanted to go camping that was something she'd never done before.

Nick in his late teens, when he was hormonally crushing over impressing Amanda the snob, doing a road trip with her, when he'd borrowed a Land Rover on his learners permit and ended up lost in the Lake District with a Fortnum & Mason hamper to survive on.

All Astrid recalled was the mud Nick brought back.

Maybe Nick could take Cass next weekend, on a sort of mini camping trip, no Nick was all eyes on Rachel now.

Perhaps her dad could do so, Astrid knew not likely, her dad certainly wouldn't know how to begin to camp.

Her Mum, Felicity's idea of being like common people was shopping at H&M and buying Marks and Spencer biscuits 2 for 1 when visiting London.

Her poor Mum meant well. She'd even downsized with the economy, to one chauffeur and four maids and a butler trained from The Dorchester, along with a french lady Michelin chef and still thought her household was a mess.

Astrid glanced at Charlie Wu's polite text, no she wasn't opening that door again.

Charlie was a long time ago.

They both grew up since twenty, besides Charlie was married now.

And Astrid did not cheat.

Scrolling on her phone to it, Rachel had sent her a photo from the plane when Nick had proposed, with Auntie Eleanor's ring, this picture made Astrid just hugely grin at it, so Rachel's city ways did eventually thaw Nick's Mum.

She'd seen how Auntie Eleanor had made a brief appearance tonight, Ollie thought she was sulking, no Ollie was completely wrong, Auntie Eleanor wasn't like that.

Auntie Eleanor just went about the wrong way in wanting the best for Nick, and she had to just accept, Rachel was that.

Radio One Asia's Cassandra was already buzzing on WeChat with and insider scoop that was unbelievable, implying Rachel was pregnant and that's the only reason why Nick proposed to her.

Astrid well remembered Radio One Asia's many outrageous rumors about her thirty-nine carat diamond solitaire ring and the ice cream shake throwing meltdown at Wendy's with Charlie a few years back.

No she had never insisted that Charlie buy her his & hers Porsche Spyder 918's in a pre-nup.

Nick and Rachel loved each other. It was simple as that.

Astrid also knew this, any future kid with Nick's eyes and Rachel's charm would make Aunty Eleanor a goner.

Also Rachel Chu, was not a little nobody from NYC, like Eugene had voiced this crassly out loud to her hearing near the bar tonight, he been musing dumbfounded at what Rachel had to offer Nick, just her love, that wasn't much.

It was.

Astrid had once chosen Michael because of just that.

It got them through until now.

Rachel had already charmed most of the family and at Colin and Astrid's wedding, Princess Intan was also quite taken with Rachel's brains and clear love of Microeconomics, the family saw and accepted she was Nick's choice, and she also was simply incredible and Nick was a lucky guy.

Earlier tonight, Astrid had hugged him, and told him to make sure to hold onto this NYU professor for the next 50 years.

Nick had just squeezed Rachel's side, his eyes holding hers.

Astrid had just known immediately via many Skype messages from Nick, how he'd been very taken with his NYU colleague who he couldn't seem to get her to accept going out to tea or cocktails with him, she'd just kept refusing a date with him.

Nobody turned down Nick Young.

Nobody except Rachel Chu of NYC.

Astrid gave him advice, be her friend first, bring her coffee and get her to talk, just be his boring history loving self, don't be his typically charming Nick the billionaire bachelor who gets any girl easily, just start to wear J. Crew with his A.P.C. jeans and loosen up his Savile Row style a bit.

Slowly woo her.

He had.

He got her.

Hugging her pillow, the view of the harbor was beautiful tonight, snapping a photo of it, she realized she had no one to share it with, sliding her iPhone off, Astrid knew Nick and Rachel would soon be planning wedding themes, as long as it wasn't like Charlie and Astrid's with the church and the water and their reception of,"A Night Of Hedonism Jazz in 1920s Shanghai meets Fitzgerald," hers was not like that, Ollie dubbed hers truly chic without trying, a mixture of French Chateau meets Merchant and Ivory English Manor, with Yo-Yo Ma the cellist playing Chopin, Michael had looked so handsome in his morning coat.

Her in Chanel.

Astrid just stared at their wedding photo in the frame.

They'd been incandescently happy then, she was holding her bouquet of ranunculus and roses, her soft eyes on him, she was crazy about him.

How could he have accused and gotten her so wrong, he'd voiced such a nastiness how he obviously felt about her, it was so much pent up resentments he held onto, against her, she'd heard and saw it in the limo, he was deliberately cruel to her, like she was always perfect and spoiled, and she wasn't, even at Oxford, she'd earned her honors, it was not handed to her.

It wasn't like her Mum and Dad, bought a wing for her at Oxford, like other classmates from the Persian Gulf.

Realizing what she'd picked it up, clasped between her fingers, their framed wedding photo, Astrid slid it into the garbage can, Michael's affair and blaming her for it was enough, she was moving on, she had to, so on soft cashmere sock feet, she slipped into Cassian's room, leaning her head against the doorway, watching her little boy sleep.

At least Cassian, was something she and Michael made and lucked out on.


End file.
